Workbench projects including welding, grinding, and sanding produce high amounts of dust. Known in the art are workbench assemblies which address removing the dust from the air.
Dustvent.TM. manufactures a workbench having a plurality of slots on the table top which form a grate similar to a charcoal cooking grill. Tools can fall through the slots. Noise is created by the 1400 C.F.M. cleaning airflow. An external central air filtration system must be built adding to costs and taking up floor space.
Airflow Systems, Inc..TM. manufactures a self-contained 200 FPM downdraft workbench. It is built as a massive non-modular unit. Large slots on the table top form a grill. But tools can fall through. Air noise is considerable. The sidewalls and backwall are too short, thus allowing dust to fly off the workbench.
Aerology.TM. manufactures a downdraft air velocity workbench having large slots on the table top into which tools could fall. An external air filtration system is required. A good sized backwall and hinged side-wing panels capture the dust.
A summary of patented prior art is noted below.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,944,705 (1976) to van Calsteren discloses a laminar down-flow chamber having a ceiling and room and a workbench having an exhaust grid.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,202,676 (1980) to Pelosi, Jr. et al. discloses a portable clean room for an animal or plant under observation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,287,405 (1981) to Ohmee et al. discloses a suction hood for a welding device.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,595,368 (1986) Cole discloses an underwater welding training tank.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,260 (1986) to Cox discloses a welding station exhaust hood and a pair of legs support the exhaust hood.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,860,643 to Spearow discloses a laminer flow clean room workbench having bench-top ducts and rear wall ducts.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,650 (1992) to Oldham, deceased et al. discloses a garbage bin having a rear wall exhaust duct.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,257,957 (1993) to Doccianni et al. discloses a safety enclosure work container.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,473 (1994) to Goemans et al. discloses a fume hood having back wall outlets.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,410,120 (1995) to Taylor discloses a welding room having a downward laminer flow air vent system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,807,414 (1998) to Schaefer discloses a workbench having vent openings each equal to or less then 0.5 square inch to handle 1200 CFM of air at a noise level less than 75 dB.
In summary the present invention provides a larger workbench than the '414 patent and having a good-sized backwall and hinged side panels on a self-contained downdraft air velocity workbench. A minimum of 100 perforations per square foot having a maximum opening size of 0.5 square inches each provide for high 100-300 CFM per square ft. and a low 68 dB noise. The modular construction allows a work booth to be added to the top. The work booth also has a perforated backwall. The modular table top provides for a 500 pound capacity in a relatively lightweight workbench.